Reading Case Citations
A case citation typically has five parts: Party names, name if the reporter in which the case is found, volume number of the reporter, page in the reporter where the case starts, and the year the case was decided. The party names and the year may not be included. The parts in a citation look like this:
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑
Parties Volume Reporter Page Year
In the trial court, the first name listed is the plaintiff, the party bringing the suit. The name following the "v" is the defendant. If the case is appealed, the name of the petitioner (appellant) is usually listed first, and the name of the respondent (appellee) is listed second. If the defendant in the trial court case brings an appeal, the defendant's name may be listed first in the appellate case.
However, some jurisdictions, such as Ohio, keep the parties' names in the same order on appeal as in the trial court.
In federal court, circuit court case captions list the parties in the same order as trial court case (plaintiff v. defendant, or state (or u.s.) v. Defendant). On appeal to the United States Supreme Court, the name of the petitioner is listed first v. the name of the respondent - so the defendant may be listed first in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Finding Cases by Citation in Print
The following two tables list commonly used abbreviations for Federal and regional case reports.
Federal
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** In the Ohio Official Reports Series, three reporters are combined. Starting in 1982 (Vol.1) Ohio State Reports 3d, Ohio Appellate Reports 3d, and Ohio Miscellaneous Reports 2d are combined into one volume. Starting in June 1991 (Vol. 61) they are each published separately. Starting in 1994, Ohio Appellate Reports and Ohio Miscellaneous Reports were recombined, beginning with Vol. 93 Ohio App. and Vol. 64 Ohio Misc. Ohio State Reports continues to be a separate volume.
*** Ohio Reports covers Ohio Supreme Court cases reported between 1821 and 1851. During the 1990's, the Ohio Supreme Court developed its own system of citations for finding opinions on the Ohio Supreme Court website. This form, referred to as the WebCite, also uses the abbreviation "Ohio" (ex. 2009 Ohio 6054). If you are unsure as to whether your citation is to the Ohio Reports or a WebCite, check the date.
+ Additional Unreported Ohio Cases are available on microfiche. The following are available: 5th District: 1974-1981 and 9th District: 1921-1962.